‘I am fine,’ says rescued bank manager Nezam

Nezam Uddin, the manager of the Ruma branch of Sonali Bank in Bandarban, has expressed his gratitude to law enforcers and his colleagues for rescuing him from abduction unharmed.

“I am fine now,” he said, speaking to the media on Friday. “I want to thank the [Rapid Action Battalion] and all the law-enforcing agencies.”

Two days after he was abducted, the RAB rescued Nezam from near Ruma Bazar on Thursday. He was then taken to Bandarban that night.

Nezam and his wife Maisura Ishfat spoke to the media in the presence of the RAB at the Bandarban Hill District Council conference room on Friday.

“I have come to you thanks to the efforts of my bank colleagues and the Sonali Bank MD. I want to express my thanks to them as well.”

Maisura said, “Two days ago, we did not know whether we would see him again. I am overjoyed to have him back.”

Nezam is a graduate of the Department of Forestry at Chittagong University. He hails from Chakaria in Cox’s Bazar and is the fifth child among eight siblings.

Maisura is a lecturer at the Bandarban Cantonment Public College. The couple live in Ruma’s Sadar area with their son.

Around 9pm on Tuesday, over a hundred armed men attacked the Sonali Bank branch in Ruma . They beat up at least 20 people, including bank officials and security guards, before looting money and police weapons.

Nezam was offering Tarabi prayers at the compound mosque nearby. The attackers entered the building and took him away.

Around 12:30pm on Wednesday, armed men in three vehicles attacked the Thanchi Upazila branches of the Krishi Bank and Sonali Bank and stole money.

The Kuki-Chin National Front, a separatist group operating in the hill tracts that are also known as the Bawm Party, is believed to have been involved in the attacks.

RAB secured the release of Nezam through mediation on Thursday amid public fear and panic in the two Upazilas following the attacks.

But the force did not clarify whether they meant a ransom had been paid.

Khandaker Al Moin, spokesman for the RAB and director of the agency’s law and media wing, said, “There are several regional organisations in Bandarban.”

“The bank robbery, arms robbery, abduction, and attacks in Bandarban’s Ruma and Thanchi were carried out by armed members of the KNF to show off their supremacy, inspire new recruits, and demonstrate the organisation’s capacity to their associates across the world,” he added.